


The Beginning of the Rest of Your Life

by akisazame



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Community: badbadbathhouse, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-24
Updated: 2009-01-24
Packaged: 2018-02-24 13:22:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2582924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akisazame/pseuds/akisazame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It should have been exciting, the culmination of years of education and their last shining moment before being flung into the world of adulthood, but in reality it just felt anticlimactic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Beginning of the Rest of Your Life

**Author's Note:**

> prompt from badbadbathhouse: "Yosuke/Chie, high school graduation."

It should have been exciting, the culmination of years of education and their last shining moment before being flung into the world of adulthood, but in reality it just felt anticlimactic. Unlike Yukiko, who'd reclaimed her spot as top of the class after Souji returned to the city, neither Yosuke or Chie had grades worth bragging about. In fact, without their brainy friend's help, they might have been in danger of not graduating at all. Because of that, it barely felt like finishing high school had been their own accomplishment.

To be fair, basically everything had felt anticlimactic after the whirlwind events of their second year. Once the fog had disappeared and Souji had left, Inaba had turned back into its peaceful, idyllic, and ultimately boring self. Yosuke was hit hardest by it; finally, after six months, the backwater town where he'd been trapped had become interesting, _fun_ even. The murder mystery was one thing, sure, but the bigger reason behind it was Souji. After his friend, the only true friend he'd ever had, moved back to the city, it seemed like the town of Inaba had faded away into greyscale. The rest of the investigation team remained behind, of course, but it wasn't the same without their leader. Without Yosuke's best friend.

As he stood through the graduation ceremony, he couldn't help but be bitter. _He should have been here, dammit. He should have stayed so he could share this with us._ It was selfish, and he knew it, hated it, but felt it all the same. He glanced down the row out of the corner of his eye and saw Chie and Yukiko standing next to him, but their presence wasn't enough to fill the glaring absence.

After it was all over and he'd been congratulated by every member of his family, including ones he barely even knew (congratulated for _what_ exactly, he couldn't really figure out), he finally managed to break away and escape. They were going to hold a party for him in the Junes food court tonight after the store closed, but he just needed to be alone for a while first. Without thinking of where his feet were taking him, he ended up on the flood plain, in the spot where he and Souji had fought that day. When the realization hit, it was followed by a sharp pang in his chest. Sadness? Loneliness? Something else? He didn't even know anymore. He threw himself down on the grass beside the river and rolled over to stare up at the stars appearing in the darkening sky.

"Thought I'd find you here." Yosuke looked up to see Chie standing over him, now dressed in casual clothes instead of her school uniform. She had her hands on her hips, staring down at him with a serious expression.

Yosuke sighed and pulled himself up to sit cross-legged. "What, not having a party with Yukiko?"

"No," Chie said after a pause, biting her lip and glancing to the side. "We were gonna have a sleepover, but the inn got overbooked because of graduation and now Yukiko has to help out. Sucks, huh? Our last night of not being adults and she has to go and be an adult." She dropped down to sit on the grass next to Yosuke, gazing out at the river, not meeting her friend's gaze.

"So, what, you came to bug me instead? Gee, thanks, Chie." He wasn't bitter about it, not really, but that was the way their friendship had always operated. When one of them was feeling down, the other would make some stupid joke and it would turn into a mock fight, the two of them bickering back and forth until they'd forgotten what was wrong in the first place. But this time there was much too long of a pause; usually Chie would snap right back with something, never missing a beat. It had been the wrong approach, obviously.

The silence between them lasted for a long time. Somehow, this made Yosuke feel lonelier than when he'd been sitting here alone; even though Chie's warm body was inches away from his, it felt like there was a giant gulf between them that he could never hope to cross. Somewhere in his heart, he wondered if it had always been that way, and he had just never noticed until now.

Chie took a deep breath, then let it all out at once before she spoke. "I think I want to go to the police academy in the city. I'm sure Souji told you, right? How I want to be a police officer? Well, I was gonna just apply for the Inaba police department and work my way through their ranks but..." She hesitated for a moment, and her doubt was almost tangible.

"You want to get out of Inaba," Yosuke finished for her. It was easy enough to do; those thoughts, at least, echoed his own.

She turned to look at him abruptly; it was always Yukiko who finished her sentences, not Yosuke. Then she blinked, relaxed, and gave a half-smile. "Yeah. I mean, part of me wants to stay here. It's where I grew up, you know? I guess you don't feel that way about Inaba since you only moved here two and a half years ago, but when you've lived in a place all your life you get these mixed feelings. You feel obligated to stay, but what you really want is somewhere new. A fresh start, you know?"

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Yosuke said, pulling his knees up to his chin. "A fresh start, I mean."

Chie just made a small noise and looked back toward the river. Yosuke felt stupid; what an idiotic thing to say to someone. At least Chie seemed willing to move on, to make something of her life. It was definitely more than he could say for himself. He'd probably stay in Inaba forever, slave to Junes until he took over for his dad as manager of the store. Just like Yukiko, and Naoto too for that matter; chained to a job by family and lineage. The difference was that they actually _liked_ the work that had been passed on to them, took a sense of pride in it. Junes, on the other hand, would always mark the beginning of Inaba's downfall, its integration into modern society. It wasn't something Yosuke wanted at all.

He thought hard about how things would change if Chie really did leave. Sure, it wouldn't make quite as big of an impact on him as Souji's departure had, but he doubted that anything could ever feel that monumentally soul-crushing. Even so, he couldn't deny the fact that he didn't want Chie to go. He just couldn't bring himself to actually say that. "What about Yukiko?" he asked instead.

Again, it was the wrong thing to say. Chie gave a rueful smile. "She doesn't need me anymore. She'll be taking over the inn now that we've graduated. She won't have time to mess around with someone like me."

Yosuke felt his heart shrivel at her words; she'd voiced the feelings he'd had for a year now, but hadn't truly identified. Ever since Souji went back to the city, he'd felt left behind, as though he wasn't really important enough for his best friend to trifle with any longer. Who cared, right? He was back with all his city friends, living his city life. Sure, they still sent each other SMS messages and stuff, but Yosuke knew it wasn't the same. It couldn't be the same if they weren't really together. He knew it was just his selfish side again, that shadow self whose existence he'd originally denied, but that was part of him too, dammit. "I'll have time to mess around with someone like you."

She turned to look at him again, eyes wide. Chie never knew what to do whenever Yosuke said something that was genuinely thoughtful. It always gave her this uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, and she didn't like it at all. Her first instinct was that he was making fun of her again, as usual. But there was nothing but sincerity in his brown eyes. "Thanks, Yosuke."

He heard her, but chose not to acknowledge it. Instead, he looked at his watch and stood up. "I gotta be getting back to Junes. They're throwing a big graduation party, so I guess it'd be kinda lame if the graduate didn't show." He turned around and looked down at Chie, still sitting cross-legged on the grass. "You wanna come? You can dragon kick my relatives when they start getting annoying."

Chie laughed, the first time she'd done so all day. "I don't have to get dressed up, do I?"

"Of course! We expect you in a ballgown and high heels," Yosuke teased, winking at her. "It's a party at _Junes._ Do you really think we have a dress code?" Without thinking, he reached a hand down to help her up. It only took him a second to realize his mistake; this was _Chie,_ she didn't need a hand up. She was probably offended now, knowing her. He was just about to retract his hand when he felt her grab hold, her grip strong, but her skin much softer than he had expected. At first he was frozen, her hand in his, surprise and some other feeling mingling together in his stomach to create a paralysis that spread through his whole body without warning. But then she was staring at him with one eyebrow raised, and he snapped back to reality, his arm tensing to lift her onto her feet.

It surprised him even more when she didn't let go. He looked at her, but she wouldn't look at him; still, if he tilted his head, he could see the blush on the visible part of her cheek.

"Well?" Chie snapped suddenly, her voice tighter than usual. "We're gonna be late."

Yosuke blinked, then started walking up the path to the flood plain's sidewalk. Chie followed right next to him, never loosening her grip. It was a weird feeling, holding Chie's hand like this, but it was a nice one, too. Somehow it just felt... right.


End file.
